The Magic of Madhuri- Dhak Dhak Karne Laga!

In honor of Madhuri Dixit's birthday on Sunday, it's the Magic of Madhuri Week started by the lovely Gaja Gamini over at the Bollywood-ish Blog (be sure to check it out!). So many of us Bolly bloggers are getting together to honor her with some posts this week. My first contribution? My absolute, most favorite song of Madhuri's--"Dhak Dhak" from the film Beta (1992).

You'd think that my favorite Madz song would be one of her glorious dance numbers, but I feel like this sensuous number takes the cake. First of all, the song itself is just plain catchy--you can't help but hum it over and over again after hearing it. They lyrics are also really sweet, and song is overall well-sung (Anuradha Paudwal won the Filmfare Best Playback Singer award for this). Anil Kapoor is even a bit desirable in the song. But despite all of this, Madhuri completely steals the show mostly through her flawless facial expressions:

It doesn't hurt that Madhuri is able to rock that otherwise dreadful orange sari. Her body looks amazingly voluptuous- not stick skinny! She proves that you don't have to show a vulgar amount of skin to be sexy. She conveys almost all her sexiness through those perfect facial expressions.

I also really love this song because it's a prime example of how Bollywood tends to handle sex and sexuality--especially up until the late '90s. Bollywood recognizes the social taboo of depicting sex (a lot of this also has to do with censor boards) and has therefore found ways to convey the idea of sex and desire without having to be so explicit. This is why we see so many wet sari sequences, blurred screens on nuptial night scenes, or sensual dance sequences like this one. I mean, who needs onscreen kissing when we have this?!

Whether it be for the mesmerizing music, the fantasy-like setting, the sensuality, or simply Madhuri's charm, "Dhak Dhak" remains an iconic song in Indian cinema--and one that I will forever love!